


Kiss With A Fist

by awayfromsight



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Electric Couple Prompt, F/M, Florence-Arc, Possessive!Hannibal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 22:10:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12219957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awayfromsight/pseuds/awayfromsight
Summary: “I don’t need to be protected, Hannibal."





	Kiss With A Fist

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NotPersephone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotPersephone/gifts), [kmo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmo/gifts).



> My second fic for the Electric Couple "Florence Arc" prompt, a little different than the last one.

The sound of her palm against his cheek echoed through the entire apartment, the look of anger on both of their faces growing stronger by the second.  
Everything inside Bedelia’s mind screamed, told her to run, to get away from him, to save her life. But she didn’t move. And neither did Hannibal. For a second or two, it seemed as if Florence stood as still as they did, barely daring to breathe.  
And then he broke the moment. 

Bedelia tried not to flinch, expecting him to attack her , but all he did was push past her, picking up his tuxedo jacket he had discarded when they had entered their home a few minutes earlier and slammed the door on his way out. She stood rooted to the spot, her hand still raised and she didn’t dare look after him.  
Taking a couple of deep breaths, she tried to regain her composure and then, as if breaking out of a trance, she moved out of the kitchen, past the sitting room and into the bedroom they shared.  
Bedelia took off the gown she had been wearing all night, and her jewelry, all of them gifts from him, and moved to the bathroom to draw herself a bath. 

As she was soaking in the hot water, letting the essential oils steam away the agitation of the evening, she started to reflect. Hannibal and her had never fought, certainly not to a physical degree, they rarely ever even argued.  
Hannibal usually acted very considerate around her, giving her space and always asking for her permission before he touched her. Inside this apartment, when it was just the two of them, he was nothing short of the perfect gentleman, the perfect husband, even though he wasn’t really one.  
Outside their home, he usually treated her like a queen, complimenting her at every opportunity, parading her around like the most important person in the world.  
Thus, the academic society of Florence enjoyed the company of the charming Doctor Fell and his beautiful wife as often as they could, inviting them to every event.  
Just like they had tonight. Bedelia couldn’t remember the exact occasion and she didn’t bother trying, the pretense for the elaborate occasion, that were little more than overly expensive Champagne tastings, didn’t matter to her.  
But they had gone, and smiled and drawn every eye in the room to them as he held her in his arms and spun her around the dance floor. 

In fact, for Hannibal’s taste, they had drawn two eyes too many. 

A man had approached her towards the end of their evening, a young Italian professor and asked for a dance with her.  
Hannibal, while he had seemed polite and friendly to the untrained eye, had let go of her waist rather reluctantly, kissing her hand as she left and telling her to not be too long.  
While she was led through a waltz, rather clumsily, by the young Italian, she could feel his gaze burning on her back, as if trying to scorch her dance partner by merely glaring at him. As clumsy as the young man’s dancing was, his hand seemed rather secure as it travelled from a polite spot at her waist to the small of her back and further down but was, thankfully, stopped by the end of the song. Hannibal appeared beside her, ready to escort her back to their table the second the orchestra had played the last note.

“Would you mind telling me what that was about?“

He pulled out the chair for her, sitting down next to her, his face giving away nothing of the venom in his voice. He didn’t turn to her to wait for her answer. 

“I believe he was trying to flirt with me. He’s not the first person to try that, just as many women and men have tried to flirt with you. Why does this bother you?“

He still wouldn’t look her way, even though she kept studying the side of his face.

“Yes. But he touched you. He was unbelievably rude, putting his hands on you like that.“ His gaze crept around the room, trying to find the source of his anger again, no doubt already planning the feast he would turn him into. 

“You’re angry he tried to play with your toy, aren’t you? That’s how you see me in this setting, Hannibal? A possession to be played with?“ 

That got him to look at her, at last. His face had gone from passiveness to something akin to anger.  
He turned entirely to her, taking her hand and pulling her up and towards the large exit doors. She expected him to grip her more firmly, but despite his frustration, his touch remained gentle. 

“This is not a conversation we should have in public.“ was the only explanation he gave her, when he went to fetch their coats and call for their driver. 

They stepped inside their Florentine apartment after a car ride in complete silence, their discomfort growing stronger by the minute, disposing of their coats and his jacket when he next spoke to her.  
He touched her arm as she stepped through the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of wine and taking a long sip.

“I do not view you as an object to be owned or stolen, Bedelia. But I certainly don’t appreciate someone so unworthy of you touching you. Especially in such a rude manner. I was merely protecting you.“

She turned around to him so quickly, she almost knocked over her glass. 

“I don’t need to be protected, Hannibal. I’m not some kind of fragile doll. You do not own me and you do not get to protect me.“

She took his hand off her arm, now feeling visibly agitated. She stepped a few feet away from the counter, needing to put some distance between them. It was so unlike her to lose her temper, especially with him. 

“You might think I don’t know that, Bedelia. I do. I simply wish for you to be…safe. And he was disrespecting you.“

“It’s not for you to decide who disrespects me, Hannibal. I’m a grown woman, I can defend myself should I feel the need to!“

That seemed to shake him a little, his calm demeanor slipping.

“And you didn’t feel the need to when this… child… groped you in front of the entire room? I never took you to be so cheap, Bedelia.“

She whipped around to face him, almost running back to where he stood… And hit him. With an open palm across the face, his skin reddening instantly.  
As Bedelia got out of the bath and prepared to go to bed about an hour later, she heard the door open and his polished dress shoes move across the hallway and towards the kitchen, the sitting room and finally their bedroom, where he found her, sitting at her vanity.  
“You were out for a long time. Did you manage to find the young man? Did you make it slow and painful?“

She watched, as Hannibal changed from his tuxedo, still absolutely spotless as she noticed, and changed into pajama pants, leaving his chest bare.

“I did not go after him, Bedelia. I took a walk and thought about what you said. You were right and I need to apologize. I don’t get to make decisions for you, despite how much I want to take care of you. I overstepped my boundaries tonight. I’m sorry.“

She tried to hide the surprise she felt at his sincere apology but she felt it, nonetheless. She tried to stay angry with him, give him a cold shoulder, no matter how mundane it would seem but she didn’t find herself able to.  
As she got up and moved to stand in front of him, looking at the face she knew so well by now, she could almost physically feel her resolve melt. She knew about the root of his protective nature, and no matter how much every inch of her body tried to be displeased with that trait of his, she felt almost fond of it. It had been a while since someone had cared for her in the way Hannibal did. 

“Thank you, Hannibal. I appreciate your words, and I think I need to apologize as well,“ she moved her hands up to cup his face, stroking her right thumb over where she had slapped him, “I should not have hit you. You… meant well.“ 

He smiled down at her, now towering over her without her heels and put his hands over hers.  
“A true marriage doesn’t exist without conflict, wouldn’t you agree?“

Her only reply was to smile back at him, step on her tiptoes and kiss him.


End file.
